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The Themes And Ending of “Looper”

Looper represents one of the most creative films to come along in quite some time. It’s a perfect marriage of all things that make going to the movies a worthwhile and rewarding experience. While any film fans and journalists have spent the weekend talking about the in’s and out’s of Looper‘s time travel, few have spent it discussing the themes and the ending of the film.

In my review (which can be read here,) I gave my praise to the film, particularly it’s creativity and storytelling, as well as actors Noah Segan and Pierce Gagnon. Yet while I hold a high opinion of the movie (seen it twice, and will go for thirds this week,) I’m still bothered by the ending in which young Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) kills himself in order to prevent his older version (Bruce Willis) from killing Cid (Pierce Gagnon), who will grow up to be The Rainmaker and ultimately bring a reign of terror to the world. For me, if I had been in Young Joe’s shoes, I would have allowed my older self to kill Cid and potentially save the future. While Rian Johnson does imply that Cid will grow up better than in the previous timeline, there’s still no way to be sure, and given that my older self has already lived it, I’d be willing to side with him.

True, Young Joe formed a bond with Cid that the older Joe didn’t have, but that’s where we want to hear from you. Could you kill Hitler if he was a kid, even if you’d grown to like him and his mother? Or would you go along with older Joe’s plan to kill the bastard and save your future life? Or have I completely missed the point of the movie where older Joe turns into the antagonist based on his manhunt for Cid?

Whatever your take on the themes and ending of the film is, comment below. We’d love to hear your opinion on the ending of the picture, which whatever that may be, let’s be thankful we have a movie that can be discussed and dissected beyond its surface level.